The 2012 Super Bowl Hashtag Timeline

A lot of the ads on Sunday night went after the viewers who were busy on Twitter. One user gauges their success.

People used to just watch the Super Bowl during the Super Bowl. Not in 2012. Now it's all about tweeting, texting, and, apparently, copulation. And Twitter is of particular interest to advertisers, who filled last night's commercials with more hashtags than the talking animals of years past, an attempt to snare a major media event's "second screens" and get people talking about whatever they happen to be selling. Inevitably, though, the strategy has its mishaps — namely, that Twitter users are prone to using a company's own hagtag against it. Like so.

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The Brand: Best Buy

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The Hashtag: The electronics store has a #betterway to buy a cell phone. It involves going to Best Buy.

The Correct Response: "Can't wait to get my new phone from Best Buy #betterway."

Actual Response:

The Brand: Bud Light Platinum

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The Hashtag: The new brew also gets its own conversation: #makeitplatinum.

The Correct Response: "The next time I want a cheap beer that will get me drunker than other cheap beers, I'm going to #makeitplatinum."

Actual Response:

The Brand: GE

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The Hashtag: #Whatworks associates GE with a genuinely American work ethic: regular guys and big, metal turbines. Oh, they also mention beer.